Do not set, set again! How to make your course digital

Do not let parts of the business stop or be articalponed, just because everyone has to work from home. Almost everything works remotely, including training and courses. Or, perhaps above all, educations and courses. We share our best tips so that you can adjust and not cancel. How to make your course digital.

In recent weeks, many of us have quickly become familiar with how we work from home efficiently, and how we hold meetings and workshops at a distance. Many organizers may feel compelled to cancel planned trainings. For us, it then feels extra important to highlight the many benefits we see with completely digital educations. It can be at least as good and maybe even better!

Benefits of digital education

If you only succeed in taking advantage of the opportunities that exist, a digital education has many advantages. These are some that our participants usually highlight:

• Participants save time and money when they do not have to travel
• Dividing the education into several parts instead of running a full day is good for both learning and the calendar (which is possible when you do not have to travel).
• Pre-recorded talks or instructions give participants the opportunity to learn at their own pace by watching or pausing while rehearsing.
• Recorded lectures can also be looked for after the course to get rehearsal.
• Many people find it easier to ask questions or report digitally, because they do not have to speak in front of a group.
• The level of knowledge is higher once you are "seen", so you can spend more time going through what is more complex.

To plan a digital education

To succeed with a digital course, it is important that you do not just move over the exact same layout to the web. It often gets quite boring and difficult for your participants to keep their concentration up. Here's what to think about:

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1. Figure out what it is they are going to learn. What do you have to say and what can they learn through exercises? You want as many exercises as possible, and as little lecture or "show how to do" as possible. This is because the more active the participant is, the more he learns.
2. Once you have chosen what to include in the lecture, think about what you can record in advance, and what you need to go through during the training, or both.
3. Think about how you can vary the pre-recorded lectures. Can you film on location in nature or in the organization to show what it is you are talking about? Can you interview someone? Is there already a YouTube clip on the subject? Variety often makes it more fun for the participants. Keep the films short, for a maximum of 20 minutes.
4. Develop exercises that are suitable for digital formats. It can be discussions in pairs or groups in virtual group rooms, writing their thoughts in the chat, writing about the topic in blog form or making your own mobile film about the topic. Maybe they can do some exercises between the occasions, then the time when you are seen can be spent reporting, giving feedback, discussing and asking questions.
5. Come in every way you can to have a dialogue and interaction. Can you have a common Facebook group or chat group where you can ask each other questions during the course? Can they ask questions about the lectures before you are seen, for example via Mentimeter, email, or Team Channel? Can you have question rounds while you see each other? The more involved the participant may be, the more they will learn.

To complete the course

Once you have your course opportunities, hopefully most things are already arranged, but there are a few things to remember.

1. Test the technique. Not just once, but several times. Test drive against a colleague and check that they see you, your screen when you share, hear the sound if you are playing a movie, etc.
2. Camera on! For you as a course leader, it is difficult not to know if someone is listening, but just talking in cyber space. It is difficult to have a conversation when you do not see each other's reactions and responses.
3. Make sure everyone has a say. It is difficult to speak in a digital meeting, so pause often and ask if anyone has questions. If it is a small group, you can even direct questions directly to someone: Anna, do you have questions? Alf, is everything crystal clear?
4. Take breaks, often. If you have many exercises, people can stay awake longer, but more than 45 minutes without being able to move and rest their brain is not good for anyone. Movement breaks after 20 minutes can be a good idea: to stand up, roll your shoulders, stretch and the like to stay fit. After 45 minutes there is a 10 minute break.

Good luck with your digital education!